Your morning Phil: KW, Gillick, LLWS

August 24, 2011|By Phil Rogers, Tribune reporter

Talking baseball while blown away by Pat Summitt’s willingness to battle Alzheimer’s with the world watching: 1) Jim Hendry wasn’t the only general manager in Chicago feeling the heat. Ken Williams has been unusually uptight this season, and his pain continues.

It could just be that he realizes how badly the acquisitions of Jake Peavy, Alex Rios, Adam Dunn and Edwin Jackson have blown up on him – and that the disappointing production from Gordon Beckham and rookie Brent Morel have continued a decade-long slide for the White Sox in terms of player development – but it’s also possible that he is under genuine pressure for the first time since 2005.

Rick Hahn, the assistant general manager who has made his way onto the short list to replace Hendry, was groomed to replace Williams, who not so long ago talked about not wanting to be the GM forever. It could be that the Cubs’ interest in Hahn could trigger a shift within the White Sox.

Jerry Reinsdorf made that type of move with the Bulls, promoting Gar Forman to GM while kicking John Paxson upstairs, with the title of VP of Basketball Operations. It would be extremely easy to do the same thing with Hahn and Williams, at least on paper.

However, it’s not clear that this configuration would work with the White Sox. It could, as Hahn and Williams have worked side by side since the fall of 2000, when Williams succeeded Ron Schueler as GM, but you wonder if Hahn would feel he had the same level of autonomy with Williams in the loop.

Two months ago, I wrote that Hahn had concerns about how good of a situation that would be for him. I still believe that’s true, although he’s hardly in a position to complain about anything. He’s just a guy with a strong track record as a No. 2 and aspirations to be his own boss. He’s not likely to hire an agent and mount a public campaign (not his style, anyway).

Hahn was embarrassed by speculation from me and others about his possibly replacing Hendry, which I began addressing in the Tribune in June. It made him very uncomfortable. The dynamics between him and Williams can’t be too comfortable either. The situation on both sides of town has created a perfect storm for him, and it doesn’t look like it’s going to blow through real soon.

Reinsdorf’s vision for the future of his organization is just as critical for Hahn as the ongoing search by Ricketts. In addition to Williams and Hahn, he also has strong ties to Tony La Russa, whose Cardinals have fallen 10 games behind Milwaukee. He wants to manage in 2012 and has a mutual option to remain for a 17th season in St. Louis but could wind up as the guy with the Paxson position in the White Sox’s baseball hierarchy (he has no interests in being a GM).

No matter what happens the rest of the way, this September won’t be about the White Sox and Cubs playing out the string. It could be the most interesting month in Chicago baseball since October, 2008, and hopefully a lot more productive than that one.

2. At least one baseball guy doesn’t think the door is closed on Ricketts reaching out to Pat Gillick. The MLB Network’s Larry Bowa endorsed Gillick in a Tuesday interview with Chris “Mad Dog’’ Russo on SiriusXM. “I’m sure (Brian Cashman) will get called,’’ Bowa said. “You know, the guy that I would really consider - I’m just going because I know him and he’s an unbelievable baseball man - is Pat Gillick. Pat Gillick can turn teams around … He says (he’d consider it) if he can be the president and oversee everything. Maybe if they can work something out between the two and let the president still be the president but let Gillick run all the baseball stuff. Pat Gillick might be the smartest guy I’ve ever met in baseball. He’s a very bright individual and he knows how to put together a team, unlike people that are, some of them that are running teams right now. Pat Gillick can put together a team and he goes out and works and doesn’t send people out to look at people. When he’s getting ready to draft or something he goes out and looks. He’ll look at all the reports that are coming in, but he’ll go out and look and he’ll have the final say, but he’s a great baseball mind.”

3. Gotta plead guilty. I’ve been watching the Little League World Series on ESPN. I know I should be stronger but, man, those little kids are fun to watch. If it was my decision, I’d go back to the year 2000 and televise the championship game but not the weeks-long run-up to the championship game. There’s just something wrong with turning an event for elementary- and middle-schoolers into a nationally televised phenomenon, but the level of play is really high and the drama is captivating. I’m assuming this is highly profitable programming for ESPN, and if that’s right that is so wrong. A media giant shouldn’t make money off 12-year-olds. A lot of years I stick by those principles and pay no attention to the event. But I dropped in on a couple games this year, and now I’m hooked, even though I know better.